Music-chart.



PATENTED DEC. 20, 1904 F. C. KRUSGHKE. MUSIC CHART.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 22,11903.

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11M n m 3 Q8 1 Mme 00o arto'zncu UNITED STATES Patented December 20, 1904.

PATENT @rrrcn.

MUSIC-CHART.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,793, dated December 20, 1904. Application filed September 22, 1903. Serial No. 174,228.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, FREDERICK O. KRUscHKn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berlin, in the county of Green Lake, and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Music-Chart, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to music-charts, and is designed to provide an improved device of this character for aiding unskilled persons in playing chords and changing from one chord to another in the same key, especially in playing accompaniments. It is furthermore designed to have the device in such form as to be readily applied to the keyboard of a piano, organ, or the like and provided with means cooperating directly with the keys for indicating the combination of keys to be struck in the treble by the right hand to chord or harmonize with a certain key to be struck by the left hand in the base and also to indicate the changes in combination in the treble to correspond with changes in the base.

l/Vith these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the keyboard of an organ with one of the present charts applied thereto in position for use. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the reverse side of the chart shown in Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in both the figures of the drawings.

The body of the present chart is in the form of a comparatively long and narrow rectangular or oblong strip of cardboard, strawboard, or like materiahas indicated by the reference character 1, the color of the strip being white with the characters thereon black; but it will of course be understood that these colors may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. Each strip constitutes two charts, as one side of the strip is utilized for one key, while the opposite side is utilized for the neXt following key, and therefore a set is made up of a plurality of charts running in regular order from the key of C through the succeeding sharp and flat keys. Near each end of each strip is a transverse or vertical line 5, so as to form opposite terminal margins, in one or both of which appears the signature of the particular key for which the chart is made out as, for instance, the chart shown in Fig. 1 is for the key of C, while that shown in Fig. 2 is for the key of G and has the expression l sharp G in the right-hand margin.

That portion of the chart which lies between the margin-lines is divided into longitudinal seetions,preferably three in number, by means of two parallel lines 0 and (Z, respectively, and these longitudinal sections are designated by the numerals 1, 2, and lar order from the lower section to the upper section. These sections contain characters which point to certain keys when the chart is in place, the characters in each section being alike throughout the section, but differing from those of the other two sections. In the lower section the characters are transverse or vertical heavy black lines (a, f, g, and 7t, in the middle section they are ciphers a, Z, and Z, and in the upper section the charac ters are substantially triangular in shape, with their apexes pointed downwardly and designated by the reference-letters m, a, o, and Dotted lines 0 extend downwardly from the characters in the upper and intermediate sections and intersect the lower edge of the chart.

In using the chart it is placed in an upright position upon the rear ends of the white keys of the keyboard R and back of the black keys, whereby it will be seen that all of the characters cooperate with and point directly to the corresponding keys of the keyboard both black and white. It will also be noted that the width of the chart is just sufficient to fit between the tops of the white keys and the lower sides of the stops, and therefore does not interfere with the manipulation of in reguthe latter. For the purpose of placing the chart always in the same relative position it is provided with an indicators of any suitable form, here shown as a star or asterisk, located near the lower edge of the chart and designed to be placed opposite the space or division-line between the middle C key and the next adjacent B key. Although the chart will ordinarily be positioned with respect to the middle 0 key, it will of course be understood that it may be shifted to any of the other C keys whenever desiredas, for instance, when playing duets.

After the chart has been set up and it is desired to strike the major or tonic chord of the key of C those keys are struck to which the characters of the lowermost set pointthat is to say, the left hand strikes the large C key, to which the character at the left-hand side of the chart points, while the right hand strikes the keys corresponding to the remaining three characters, which point to the keys G C (middle) and E, (above,) thereby producing the major or tonic chord of the key of C. The change to the next modulation is indicated by the characters in the intermediate space, the dotted lines of which point to the key F for the left hand and the keys A, G, and F (above) for the right hand, and the next succeeding modulation is indicated by the characters in the uppermost section, which point to the keys G, (below,) G, (middle,) and B and F, (above) From the foregoing description it is apparent that the pointing or indicating characters for each chord are found in one set or section only, and hence there need be no confusion whatsoever in determining what keys are to be struck, and therefore the playing is purely mechanical. Vhile only three sets of characters have been shown for indicating three different chords in a single key, it will of course be understood that a greater number of changes may be indicated by merely increasing the number of sets of characters; but in any event there should be leader-lines, dotted or otherwise, which extend from the lower edge of the chart to the characters which are above the lowermost set in order that there may be no mistake as to which keys the upper characters are intended to indicate. It is preferred to employ leader-lines rather than to have the upper characters intersect the lower sections, as such an arrangement would be confusing, for the reason that one set would overlap another instead of occupying a space or section entirely independent of the spaces or sections occupied by the other sets of characters.

It will of course be understood that the pointing or indicating characters are purely arbitrary in form as, for instance, each set of characters might be letters corresponding to the keys to which they point or they might be numerals from l to 5, so as to indicate the lingering in the common or ordinary manner. Such changes of course fall within the purview of the present invention, and as they are obvious it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate the same.

hat is claimed is A music-chart comprising an oblong sheet arranged to engage behind the black keys and to rest upon the white keys of a musical instrument, said sheet having transversely-disposed lines contiguous to its end edges, a keysignature located in the marginal space between one of the lines and the adjacent end edge, a plurality of spaced lines extending longitudinally along the exposed face of the sheet and terminating at the transverse lines, subdividing said face between the transverse lines into longitudinal sections, the lowermost of the sections being wider than the others so as to be exposed above the upper face of the black keys, said sections being successively numbered at one end directly adjacent to one of the transverse lines, a set of characters located in each section, the characters of each set being similar in shape and distinctly different from those of the other set and the characters of the lowermost set comprising straight heavy lines extending entirely across the lowermost and widest section, and light dotted lines extending from the upper characters downwardly across the sheet to its lower edge.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own 1 have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK (l. KLUSCHKE.

WVitnesses:

L. E. DAVIS, Enw. l). FREBELKORN. 

